Big Dogs - Paw Patrol TWDG AU
by RufflossomOTP
Summary: Imagine for a moment that you are a dog, a small dog, a cockapoo. Now imagine that you've just been thrust into your worst nightmare. That was how things were going for Skye, but she'd never let anybody know that. Alone with nobody except the biggest klutz in Adventure Bay, the least of her worries was a silly little dream. At least, not anymore.
1. Episode 1 Part 1 - Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

***beep beep beep beep***

**The sound of the sonar on the plane's dashboard was the only thing keeping Skye focused. In the span of 20 minutes she had broken her paw, crashed through a window, and had nearly gotten someone killed. But that wasn't important, what was important was staying alive. She couldn't risk doing any more damage to herself, her plane, or the dalmatian sleeping in the back of it.**

**Craning her neck slightly, she turned to check on the sleeping pup. He was fine, the bandage over his eye still stained a bright scarlet. She frowned to herself, wishing that she hadn't let it happen. There was no time for remorse, or hesitation. Lowering her goggles down onto her face, she flew past the forest, and away from the Lookout, this time, for good.**

**She didn't blame Zuma for any of this. He didn't know, he couldn't have known, that he would have unleashed such horrors onto the unsuspecting members of the Paw Patrol. Just thinking about it made her stomach lurch. In his final moments he thought it was his fault, but she'd never get to tell him that it wasn't. Tears clouded Skye's vision as the pain of Zuma's death finally hit her. She wasn't able to give it much thought before, but now it had finally hit her. Zuma was gone. Forever, and there was nothing she could do about it.**

**"Ungh...Skye?"**

**Marshall's voice rang out from behind her, breaking the deafening silence. Setting the plane to autopilot, she crawled out of her seat and turned to face him, tears staining her golden-brown face.**

**"W-why are you crying? And what happened to my face?"**

**"Don't worry about it right now. What we need to focus on is the fact that you're alive"**

**Her phrasing made him uneasy, but he didn't get a chance to ask anymore questions. She rushed towards him and enveloped him in a hug. Tight, but not too tight, just like always. But even with his hazy memory, Marshall knew something was wrong. Pain stung the right side of his face, and he couldn't help but whimper.**

**"Oh! I'm sorry, did I hug too tight?"**

**"No, but..." he paused for a moment, dizziness beginning to overtake him "Where are we?"**

**"My plane, it's a long story"**

**Marshall groggily sat up and looked around the plane confused. The last thing he remembered was hearing Rubble screaming and then passing out. He wracked his brain for an explanation, some sort of clue, but there was nothing. He knew that someone else had patched him up, he had no chance to grab his EMT gear since he wasn't awake. He didn't have any of his equipment, neither did Skye, so they'd probably have to find supplies of their own.**

**Skye knew that Marshall didn't know what happened, and she wanted to keep it that way, at least for now. She helped him sit up and returned to the front of her plane. Marshall looked around the outside of the plane, watching the Lookout grow further and further away from them, the town he had grown up in slowly being replaced by dense forests. This definitely wasn't good, and Skye wasn't telling him anything, so he didn't know what to do.**

**A frantic beeping broke Marshall's daydream and he turned to see Skye violently jerking the controls of the plane. They began to spin rapidly and hurdle towards the ground. Branches and debris started to strike the faces of the two dogs. Skye could hear the voice of her flight instructor echoing in her mind as the ground came closer and closer to them. She knew what she had to do.**

**"Skye!"**

**In her haste, Skye let go of the controls and jumped in front of Marshall, trying to cushion the impact of the fall for him. The plane slammed violently into the ground and launched the two dogs into the side of a large tree. They both yelped in pain. As the dust settled around them Skye attempted to pull herself up, but was unable. Her back leg was broken beyond repair. The pain hadn't set in yet, and she was still in shock. So, she began to violently limp towards where her companion had landed.**

**"Marshall! Oh no, Marshall are you ok?" she cried, watching as he suddenly stopped moving and his breath began to hitch.**

**"I'm alright, I'm alright" he whimpered, trying to reassure himself more than Skye "I'm-"**

**Before he could continue, he began to wobble and fell to the ground. The last thing he heard before falling completely unconcious was Skye's voice**

**"Marshall! Don't die on me!"**

**But he wasn't dead, not by a long shot.**

**At least not yet.**


	2. Episode 1 Part 2

A/N: Sorry for the wait, everyone. I've been busy with life (and Animal Crossing) but hopefully with all the time I have on my hands and this little motivation surge, I'll have more chapters for you! A few more familiar faces will be popping up soon, and I plan to have our core group formed by chapter 4. Not to get spoilery, but I have some surprises!

Without further ado, here is the long awaited chapter 2!

!-!

When Marshall woke up he was in a crudely made stick fort. Rain was leaking through a hole near him, but soon a stranger outside patched it up with a bunch of leaves. He raised his throbbing head and looked around the "room". Whoever made it knew what they were doing, the sticks were fashioned together with pieces of moss and sap, and it looked impenetrable. It smelled overwhelmingly of pine and earth, and the dalmatian found it almost comforting.

His memory was slowly coming back, but everything was hazy. What he could piece together is that someone or something had destroyed the Lookout, he couldn't see out of his right eye anymore, and that Rubble had-

"Marshy?"

His pondering was cut short by a croaky voice from behind him. He sat at attention and turned to face the source. The light behind them obscured his vision, and made the stranger look almost angelic. Once his eyes were used to the light he could make them out more clearly. Standing in front of him, much worse for wear, was Everest. Her collar was frayed at the sides and the winter coat she never left home without had a noticeable rip in the front.

Marshall slowly trotted over to where she stood and weakly wrapped his front legs around her. She returned the gesture and heard him cry softly. She had no idea what had happened to him, but based on his condition, he had been forced through hell and back. The two injured hounds reveled in each others company for a moment, before Everest felt a sharp pain in her chest and pulled back, whimpering.

"Oh, I'm so sorry did I do something wrong?"

"No," she growled slightly as she pointed at her chest "I had a little accident with a machete earlier and I haven't gotten cleaned up yet."

"Machete?"

Marshall's ears perked up in alarm and he couldn't help but raise his volume. She shushed him and nodded with alarm. She got the feeling that he hadn't fully grasped just how horrible everything was now, but she didn't want him to face that kind of harsh reality just yet. The dog patching holes in the roof outside let out a warning yip, signalling the two inside that they were coming in. The two inside shuffled back to where Marshall had been laying before, and waited in fear and anticipation. Skye, who now sported a homemade leg splint, came in after them and filled the opening with a cover she had made with loose, leafy, branches.

"That should hold for now," she began, kicking up a small bit of dust on the ground "Once you two are feeling better we can try to head for Foggy Bottom."

"What? Why would we ever want to go there?" Marshall looked up at Skye in alarm, if there was anybody who hated Foggy Bottom more than him, it was her.

"Because, it's one of the few places I can think of that isn't overrun with...those things outside."

The look on Marshall's face said it all. Everest turned to face Skye with worry, and she waited a moment before explaining.

"Marshy, things are kinda weird right now. It's hard to explain, but I'll try my best"

"I don't really mind if the explanation is simple, I just need to know what's going on and why we're all hurt."

"Well, I'll do my best."

Everest cleared her throat and re-adjusted how she was sitting. With a sympathetic smile, she began her story,

"From what I know, this all started 3 days ago..."

Everest and Jake were sitting by a bonfire outside, drinking hot chocolate and generally enjoying each other's company. It had been a rough day for the two of them, so it was nice to finally get a break. The two had spent around 40 minutes cheerfully telling each other old stories and laughing, and to Everest, nothing could be better than this. She sighed and closed her eyes, calm and content.

A loud slam shot her back into reality, and she began frantically looking for the source of the noise. Her eyes finally fell upon a tree in the distance, toppled over and covered in dogs of varying shapes and sizes. They gnawed violently at the dead bark and ripped it apart with sharp, yellowed teeth. These weren't normal dogs by any means, they had cold dead eyes and were covered in open sores and blood. Everest did a double take and felt her blood run cold.

Zombies?

Zombies aren't real, she thought to herself, they were just movie monsters made to scare people for adrenaline. But, if zombies weren't real like she said, what in the world were those things? She could barely keep herself from staring as they kept eating. A few more emerged behind them, and more after them. She froze in fear.

Jake followed her eyes and turned pale at the sight. Without thinking, he shoved the table off of the porch and grabbed Everest before booking it into the cabin to grab a weapon and his coat. He stumbled past the door frame and shot towards the fireplace, where a slightly dulled machete and an old gun of his father's hung proudly. He ripped them off without hesitation and fumbled to get them in his camping bag. Barring that, he didn't need to do much else to prepare, the bag was stocked for a trip he would have taken the following Tuesday.

Everest was now on high alert as they made their way inside. She looked for the packages of bullets that were hidden in a drawer for hunting, and found them next to a small container full of BBs. She took both and folded them into her own bag without missing a beat. She grabbed a small can of Pup Food from the kitchen table and the spare first-aid kit that they kept for emergencies, then ran to Jake. He grabbed the keys to his snowmobile and the two were riding away from the house before they had much time to think about it.

The details were fuzzy to her now, but what she could recall was that they didn't exactly have a safe trip. Halfway towards the nearest town, Jake had hit a patch of black ice and sent them both flying. Everest had been cut by the wayward machete as it flew into her chest. Thankfully, her coat was thick enough to keep it from damaging anything vital, at the price of the first half inch of her skin.

The supplies were scattered around her and she quickly shoved everything back into their respective bags. She heard loud grumbling from behind her, and turned to see even more of those...things coming up the hill. She looked down at her wound and then over to Jake, sobbing as she did so.

"What do we do? We're outnumbered and the snowmobile is-"

"Everest, run."

"What?"

"Run. As far as you can, as fast as you can"

"But I can't just leave you here!"

"Don't worry about me! Take the supplies and GO!"

Everest knew from the tone of his voice that this may be the final time they spoke. She obeyed his wish. Just before she left, she turned to him.

"I love you, Jake"

"I love you too, Everest"

He smiled weakly before collapsing under the snowmobile. She shot away as his body hit the snow. The last time she ever saw Jake, he was underneath a snowmobile being surrounded by mutated dogs. She cursed herself for letting that be her last memory of him, she didn't want to remember him like that. She wanted to remember the brave and strong man that had cared for her and loved her since they had first met. With little time for regret, she made her way into a foggy clearing and hid behind some large rocks. Now that she was finally alone, she let the tears flow freely.

Today was supposed to be perfect.


	3. Episode 1 Part 3

A lone brown dog stood at the top of a hill. Her fur was shaggy and tangled, and the pink bows that she never left home without lay ripped at her paws. She was tired, cold, and hungry. She didn't know how much longer she was going to make it. All that she knew, standing here and taking a brief moment to think, was that she had royally messed up.

She turned around and made her way back to the snowy ground. She carefully retraced her own paw-prints and made it back to the abandoned gas station that she and her best friend had been taking refuge in for the last 3 days. The shelves were still stocked with various snack foods and small medicines, the two dogs had only eaten a few small donuts they had found on a rack behind the counter. It was a safe, and fairly alright place to stay in, but the lone mutt knew that sooner or later, something would go wrong again, and she'd have to run away. The only difference, is that this time she'd have to go at it alone.

Her best friend, Kate, had been with her every day of this weird and terrifying journey. The two were practically joined at the hip, so it made sense that they'd be surviving the apocalypse together. They used to always joke about it when they watched horror movies with their moms, even though they were both total chickens when it came to actually fighting. That was the odd thing about this whole apocolypse, it turned some of the nicest and most innocent people that she knew into killers without a moment's hesitation. She had seen such horrifying things during this week alone that she was both curious and dreading the months, years, decades ahead.

The sound of broken glass cut through the silence and sent the shaggy hound behind the counter in nearly 2 seconds. She was shaking violently, and covered her ears waiting for gunshots, or threats, or anything else awful. Instead, she heard a soft sounding voice coming from the window.

"Hello? Is anybody in there?"

She didn't move a muscle.

"I-if you are, I'm sorry about the window! I thought this was abandoned! I promise I don't want to hurt you!"

That got her attention. Generally, when someone says that, it's proceeded by them trying to hurt you, but there was something about the tone of the stranger's voice that made her believe them.

"Alright, you got me. I'm right here. Please wait a second so I can open the door for you."

"Really? Thank you so much!"

"Don't mention it."

If this was how it ended, then it was how it ended. No point in delaying the inevitable. With the press of a button, she sealed her fate. Or at least she thought she did.

The sliding doors slowly opened with a loud shrieking sound, and she walked up to them. She found herself face to face with a small, gray dog with a dark spot on his eye. He looked tired, and he was slightly smaller than her.

"Oh. You really aren't here to kill me."

"No...?" the stranger cocked his head to the side "Why would I be?"

"It's been...a weird week for me. My name is Lucie."

The smaller gray dog stuck his paw out to Lucie, "My name is Rocky! It's so nice to finally see a friendly face."

"Tell me about it."

She awkwardly shook paws with Rocky before leading him into the room. He looked around with starry eyes at the brightly colored food packages and lights. His tail finally picked up, and he wagged it softly. He reminded Lucie of Kate, and she couldn't help but smile. At the same time, a touch of sadness threatened to kill the mood. She pushed it away for the time being and set off to find Rocky something to eat. The poor pup looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks.

A small, half eaten bag of powdered donuts caught his eye, and he turned to ask Lucie for at least a nibble. She stopped him mid-sentence and let him have the rest of the bag, which he ate with little hesitation. When he finished, he looked up at Lucie with a bright, powder covered smile and thanked her profusely. She couldn't help but laugh. This pup was totally ridiculous, and she already knew they were going to get along very well.

At the same time, Rocky was so happy to finally meet someone nice. His last group had split unexpectedly, and he was left alone without any supplies or food for 4 days. He had barely slept in that time, and he was sure that if he didn't find the gas station, he would have been a goner. Lucie was, to him, a guardian angel of sorts, helping him when nobody else would. In that moment, the cold and dirty streets he had been walking for god knows how long seemed like a distant memory, and he was thankful above everything else.

As Rocky felt himself falling asleep, he mumbled another thank you to Lucie, and saw her smile as his vision faded. He dreamt of the days before it all started. Running through a bright green field with his friends, getting pup treats for doing a good job, watching scary movies with Skye on Halloween, and getting belly scratches from Ryder. In the morning, he'd have to face the harsh reality around him, but for the time being, Rocky felt safe and happy.

Lucie walked around the pup and nestled herself into his side. Lying back to back like that made her feel safe. She didn't know much about this pup, other than his name, but in her heart she could tell that he wasn't going to hurt her. She felt at ease with him at her side. Strangers, they may be, but at the same time, they felt like old friends. The outside world was brutal and dangerous, but inside of this old gas station, it felt like home.

Lucie and Rocky drifted off to sleep as the lights automatically turned off. They finally had time to rest.


End file.
